Splatoon: Competition
by TheBlueBomberBoomer
Summary: When the annual Turf War competition is coming up, Aureolin and Linen finds themselves finally able to enter. Will Aureolin and her team win the competition? Please Review.
1. Declined

It was a calm normal day in Inktopolis. The bright sun hung in the sky with barely a few clouds obscuring the warm sunlight. The inhabitants of this city were Inklings, people who could change from squid to humanoid at their own will, and each was born with their own coloured ink. They were usually in their humanoid form all the time once they mastered how to switch freely around the age of fourteen. At least, that was how it was aside from Turf Wars.

"Ohhh, I hope it says yes…" the voice of one inkling muttered. She had short yellow hair that resembled tentacles, but it was all brushed to one side. She was wearing a purple coloured zip hoodie. She was Aureolin, a sixteen year old Inkling, who wore the black marking around her eyes like a mask. Aureolin was short for her age, but it wasn't too bad in comparison to others her age. She had her blue eyes focused intently on the letter in her hands. It had a symbol on it that looked like someone had shot it with a spurt of paint. She slowly ripped it open and pulled out the letter within. Sadly, the yellow squid girl was swiftly disappointed by the contents. She made her way away from the stacks of small postal boxes that were setup right outside the apartment complex and headed into town.

Aureolin had walked a good distance to get to her destination. She arrived to a small cafe that was mostly setup indoors, but there were a few tables being shaded by umbrellas where customers sat at. There were various ages and families there. She ignored them all and headed for one of the tables nearby the entrance. Aureolin saw someone sitting alone, with a small radio setup right on his table. He was a boy who was roughly her age. He had long purple tentacle hair that was pulled back behind his pointy ears. The teenage boy was wearing a white shirt that had a vertical black stripe pattern on it.

"Hey, Aure, how goes it?" he asked, seeing her. He was Linen, a close friend of Aureolin's. They had known each other for only two years, but they always got along. Linen was waiting for his order from the cafe while his radio blared random chatter about current events that were happening.

"Not so good," Aureolin answered while presenting the letter. He picked it up, curiously. It wasn't the first time she had been bummed out by a letter like this, but Linen knew what it was about. He opened it and began reading.

"Dear Aureolin. We have spent quite some time debating on this topic. You did well when we tried you out, but you are not what our team is looking for. Good luck and take care ~ The Blank Slates," the letter read, being a form of apology and decline. Linen knew what it was. There was a big Turf War tournament coming up, the same as every year. Aureolin had tried out for three teams this year to enter the tournament, and sadly she got turned down by all of them. Turf Wars, in full summary, was a fight between two teams. Whoever coated the area in the most ink of their team's colour was the winner. Usually Turf Wars were fun fights between two groups of random people, but in the competitive tournament, they were assigned a random team to fight against every couple of days.

"Sorry, Aure… There's always next time," Linen apologized while handing the letter back to her, only to see his best friend throw the letter aside in a spark of anger. Very soon they saw a waitress come over, carrying a slice of chocolate cake on a small plate, resting it at the table. Linen licked his sharp teeth, having been waiting for a few minutes to get his lunch.

"Thanks, Linny. I guess it's good to know I'm not the only one without a team this year," Aureolin stated while referring to her best friend by his nickname, though he didn't touch the cake. He was looking away, seeming to have an appearance of guilt over his face.

"N-not really. I actually made it onto the team I tried for. I'm now a member of the Ink jets!" Lenin exclaimed excitedly, though he knew he probably sounded like a show off, having unintentionally rubbed in the fact that he had got onto a team. Turf Wars required a decent amount of skill. No one liked having a detriment to their team either. Aureolin glared to the purple inkling boy, before she reached over and pulled the plate with the cake slice on it toward her. He felt bad for depressing her already saddened mood.

"How'd you get on a team so easily? Did you try to blackmail someone again to do it?" Aureolin requested an explanation, while taking a piece of the cake with the fork and sinking her teeth into it. The cake did taste pretty sweet. Linen looked disappointed, seeing her enjoy the cake slice. He knew he probably deserved the punishment. He could have told her sooner since he found out the other day.

"No! …err, well, just because it didn't work one time doesn't mean I'd do it again, but that's not how I got in. They tried me out and really liked my style. We all worked so well together," Linen explained how he got in. They tried him out in a practice Turf War, and all went well, but he did feel bad for not being able to help her in some way.

"Oh… congratulations, I guess…" Aureolin finally congratulated, offering him another fork to share the cake. Linen was happy with the offer as he took a fork full of the slice and ate it. The delicious sugary coating felt soft on his tongue, and the chocolate flavour was perfect.

"I'm sorry, I'm just getting frustrated…" the yellow squid girl apologized to her friend. She hated acting like a hateful person, unintentionally or not. Linen stopped himself midway through his next bite of cake, sighing.

"You'll still be there to cheer for me, right?" Linen nervously asked like he was afraid of the answer. He knew his friend would never abandon him just because she couldn't enter the Turf War competition, and she had tried out for multiple teams already to no avail.

"Of course I will," Aureolin reassured everything was fine between them. The two soon finished the slice of chocolate cake. It made for a good lunch, even if it was shared. She got up and gave a thumbs up to her purple squid haired friend. Linen smirked while getting his radio and turning it off.

"I'll see you tonight."

 **Authors note: Hey all! I hope you enjoy the fic so far, I don't know whether or not to continue it yet. Have a good day.**


	2. Recruited

Aureolin had spent the last few hours alone. She was rather depressed, still being turned down by another team for the competition. It had been the third time thus far. She realized it was nearing seven in the evening, and the sun was beginning to go down, though as dark as it was getting, Inktopolis was so big that the street lights alone illuminated a good part of the area. She was making her way toward the plaza, a place where the competition was going to be held. When the teenage inkling arrived to the plaza, she saw a lot of stores there. A small restaurant a clothing store lay nearby for upgrades and various nice clothing, though the main focus of hers was on the tower that was high in the sky, ominously looming over her as if it was mocking her for not being able to compete in the Turf War competition.

"Aure!" Linen's voice rung out as he approached, seeming excited for the practice tonight.

"Hey, Linny. I told you I'd be here to cheer you on… even if tonight is just practice," Aureolin reminded him happily. She felt his arms wrap around him as he pulled her into a tight hug, catching her off guard.

"Thanks a lot," Linen smiled, happy to know he had her there. He broke the hug and pointed up to the huge screen television that was displayed from the tower. The yellow haired inkling knew she will be watching her friend from that screen.

"Where's your team, by the way?" Aureolin curiously inquired, not seeing the rest of the team. Linen chuckled.

"They're inside, I think. I told'em I wasn't coming in without making sure you were here first," the purple inkling claimed. His close friend wished him good luck before watching him head into the tower. All she could do now was wait and watch.

Linen entered inside the tower. The inside was nicely decorated, and there were a lot of inklings there, along with multiple strange platforms. He saw two inklings specifically sitting there waiting for him.

"What took you so long?" one inkling spoke. She had very long green tentacles for hair that reached her knees almost in length. She was wearing goggles on her head and a white shirt that was completely blank. She was Myrtle, another member of the team. She was the first to join it. She was a bit aggressive, all things considered, though she didn't notice half the time herself.

"Sorry guys. I was making sure my friend was here," Linen apologized, though the other inkling looked a little annoyed while staring at his cellphone. The boy had short pink tentacle hair that was tied back behind his head, and he was wearing a red shirt that had a huge fang symbol on it. He was Folly, the leader of their team, the Ink Jets. He was a nice guy, but he heavily believed in being objective.

"It doesn't matter. We won't be playing in the competition," the pink inkling claimed the news, shocking their teammates.

"What? Why?!" Myrtle gasped. Linen didn't know what to say on the matter, letting their team leader continue. They all had gotten to be somewhat good friends ever since the team was formed.

"Sky texted me and said she quit. We're out by one player and we have only until tomorrow to find one, otherwise our practice tonight is cancelled, too," Folly explained to them what happened. One of their other teammates had abruptly quit on them for no given reason, and they couldn't get back in contact with their teammate. They were unable to enter the tournament or practice with only three people. There was a fourth inkling requirement. Linen only took a second of thinking before he grinned, having an idea.

"Don't worry, guys! I know just who can help us," Linen claimed. Folly and Myrtle gave each other concerned looks, but before they could say anything, they watched him dash off, that hyperactive energy being easily noticeable, but now he seemed extremely happy, which did nothing but worry the two more. Linen wasn't bad, but when it came to spur of the moment ideas, he tended to make big mistakes.

Aureolin was sitting on a bench. Currently being displayed on the big television screen was another Turf War in progress. It was pretty much one sided, though she grew a confused look when she saw Linen running out of the plaza tower. It took a second to recognize him and the all too excited look on his face.

"I have a bad feeling…" the yellow inkling muttered as Linen ran up to her.

"Aure! I have great news!" the purple squid haired boy hummed. He was far too excited, which made her nervous. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along to the tower.

"Can you tell me the news before you drag me around!?" Aureolin requested, her shoulder aching in protest from being tugged by Linen's tough arm.

"We got an opening on my team! We need a fourth person real bad," Linen explained briefly. Aureolin got a bright smile and shimmer in her eyes at her friend's words. She saw Folly and Myrtle standing there, having been waiting.

"This is who you had in mind to replace Sky? Jeez, Linen do you ever think before you act!?" Myrtle angrily demanded. Linen waved his hands defensively.

"That's a trick question, Myrtle, we both know it. This is Aureolin, she doesn't have a team. I know Sky was a pro, we all know that, but I swear on my clothes that Aure is able to help our team," Linen vouched. Aureolin was trying her best to keep up, but between how fast her best friend had dragged her here and hearing the two teammates nearly break out into an argument, she was a bit lost. The pink inkling boy had his eyes closed, thinking over this.

"Um… hi it's nice to meet you guys," Aureolin tried to be friendly, though her words fell on deaf ears. The team tried to argue this decision.

"This is nuts! She has no experience! As if you weren't crippling enough, Linen," Myrtle growled, practically butting heads with the purple tentacle haired boy. Just then, the two teammates saw their leader Folly rummage around his pocket and pull something out.

"Welcome to the team," he welcomed with a warm smile. He was holding a button out to her. It had a blue splatter symbol on it that read their group name, 'The Ink Jets'. Aureolin took it, staring happily at the button. That smile on her face seemed to only indicate how overjoyed she was. Linen was glad to see her happy.

"What!? Folly, this is nuts!" the long tentacle haired girl tried to argue, but their leader shrugged.

"Yep, Myrtle, this is nuts. That's why I took you and Linen as teammates in the first place, because you both were unpredictable. She has the attitude we need, too," Folly explained his own reasons for allowing Aureolin on the team. She was so bubbly that her attitude would be a welcomed morale raiser. Their leader began to walk toward one of many odd platforms that were in the tower.

"Come on, you guys. We've got to get to practice," Folly ordered. Myrtle gave a nasty glare to the two close friends.

"Don't mess up," she hissed before going off to catch up. Aureolin wanted to hug Linen until his bones broke. She was now excited for this, but she knew she had to do well here, or they might just change their mind. This was her one opportunity to be in the Turf War competition. All she had to do was give it her best with her teammates.

"I'll give it my all!"


	3. Practice

The group of four had walked onto a platform with holes in one of many in the tower. All four of them got on, and a glass tube surrounded them, sealing them in it, a machine attaching to the roof of it and opening a hole in the glass. Aureolin knew this was normal, but no matter how often she went through it, she never got used to it. The machine began to pour in lime green ink, filling the glass tank up that they all were in. Everyone patiently waited. It only took a minute for it to get full before the ink began to drain away with them in it. This was a glorified teleporter, and though it had an odd method, that was how the transporter to the Turf Wars went.

Aureolin had her awe inspired look as she, Linen, Myrtle and Folly all appeared from the ink. All of their clothing was now coloured lime green, and they were armed with various ink weapons. They each had tanks on their backs that were filled with the lime colour of ink. In a Turf War, the one to paint the most area under a certain time limit won. However, both teams colour ink were randomly selected. The ink weapons were for mostly painting than to fight. They couldn't swim through the enemies colour, and if it wasn't their colour, that ink hurt. When hurt too much, an inkling will fall unconscious and reappear on the platform. Linen was stuck with a blaster, Myrtle had a splat charger, Folly had an oversized paint roller and Aureolin had the splattershot.

"You guys know what to do," Folly stated. The yellow squid girl didn't want to remind them that she was new to their team. It was still unnerving to some of her teammates. The map they were competing on was the Urchin Underpass, an area that was basic but good for practice. They all darted off, Folly pressing the roller on the ground and running ahead, the long streak of paint developing behind him. Everyone else was already blasting every piece of unpainted ground they could, but it didn't take long to scatter into different directions. Aureolin wound up going alone through a side alley, when she saw one of the enemies. His clothes had been painted purple to signify his team colour. Thankfully she had most of this area painted.

"Heh, this should be easy," the boy smirked, aiming his splattershot at her and opening fire. Aureolin began to run to the left. He was gunning for her, his ink blotches hitting the walls and covering them in purple paint. The yellow inkling tried to retaliate, firing back at him. She hit him in the arm, forcing him to stop firing and leaving a painful bruise on his arm covered in lime green paint.

"I've got you now," Aureolin giggled, aiming her gun at him, though when she squeezed the trigger, nothing happened. Her eyes focused on her weapon, shaking it. Though no matter what she did, nothing came out. Aureolin realized she was out of ink in her tank on her back. Her opponent took advantage of this and threw something triangular shaped, filled to the brim with ink. Aureolin screamed before it exploded, coating her in purple ink and a small radius around her. The stingy pain of the ink burnt her skin as she fell unconscious. She melted away into the paint as her enemy ran off, having won that fight through the use of an ink bomb.

Aureolin gasped as she reappeared on the platform. All that paint on her thankfully was gone. She got up and growled.

"Focus, Aureolin, focus!" she told herself before running off to the right side of Urchin Underpass, this time to hopefully regroup with her teammates. She could see their side of Urchin Underpass which seemed to be pretty well covered in their team colour. Very soon she found Myrtle hiding behind a wall.

"Are you okay?" Aureolin asked, seeing her somewhat tall teammate nod, though she was clearly annoyed.

"Two of them are keeping me pinned here. Linen is somewhere trying to get behind them," Myrtle answered. She was doing her best to keep this side covered in their team's colour, though the enemy was able to keep the two pinned down with constant shooting. Myrtle had tried to wait until they ran out of ammo, but they were able to replenish the ink quite easily. The most the two inkling girls could do was take pot shots from around the corners they hid in.

"I don't think Linny made it behind them," Aureolin stated. They had to do something about it. She quickly sank into their paint below them, changing into her squid form which was a small yellow one. She quietly swam under the ink, going unnoticed by the enemy. She got as close as she could before changing back into her inkling form, emerging from the paint and opening fire with her Splattershot, hitting one of the enemies in the face with paint and knocking them out. Myrtle was able to shoot the other one before they had any chance to fight back.

"Good job," the long tentacle haired girl said. Aureolin nodded, thankful for the help, though they got distracted, not noticing that another enemy was coming behind them with a roller, and she looked far too excited to be speeding towards them, about to run them over. They both screamed, not being able to escape in time before being run over by the paint roller, being crushed. Their bodies vanished, and they reappeared on the platform coughing.

"I hate rollers…" Myrtle growled. But then they realized their time was up. The round was over, Linen and Folly reappearing on the platforms beside them.

"Hey, how'd you two do?" Linen inquired. He could tell that Aureolin was embarrassed. Her score was 1-2. She had defeated one enemy, but had been knocked unconscious twice. Otherwise she had held her own decently. Myrtle had been knocked out five times, and she had rendered the enemy unconscious fifteen times, much to her own pleasure.

All four of them sank back into the platform. It only took a quick moment, but they reappeared back within the Tower of Inktopolis. All of their clothes reverted back to their original colours. They saw the enemy team beside them, the four of them having big grins. They all had a huge amount of knockouts and nowhere near as many unconscious states. Soon enough, they saw a bipedal cat. He had white and black fur that looked like he was wearing a tuxedo. He was Judd the Judge, the one who declared the winner.

Aureolin bit her thumb nervously. Linen patted her back to reassure it would all be fine.

"Purple team, you covered 37% of Urchin Underpass… and green team, you covered 63% of it! The winner is… Green team!" Judd announced loudly. The enemy team all seemed to be in disbelief. Aureolin felt an overwhelming relief wash over her as she hugged Linen tight. He just chuckled at her snug squeeze.

"How'd you idiots win?! We brutalised you twice as much!" the enemy leader demanded an explanation angrily. He had light red tentacle hair that was short in length, sides of it resting on his shoulders, and he wore a hat on top of his head with a mushroom decal on it. Folly stepped up.

"Because we focused on painting, not killing like you did. I hope you don't go entering the tournament tomorrow, because if you plan to with that attitude and that kind of strategy, you will just be a waste of time," Folly explained to them that they didn't focus on the objective. This made the red inkling bite his tongue as he had to hold himself back. With that, both teams left the tower. Outside, it was beginning to get late at night.

"You did great there, Aure," Linen exclaimed, though she knew she hadn't done too well. She saw Myrtle and Folly leave to get home.

"We'll see you two tomorrow. Glad to have you on board, shorty," the pink tentacle haired leader joked, gaining an unamused look from Aureolin. She gave a small wave, seeing them leave. She was happy to know she was now on a team. Linen offered his hand to her.

"Wanna celebrate at your place tonight? How's pizza sound?" he suggested they celebrate this night in the best way they could. His best friend thought it over for a second. If it wasn't for Linen, she wouldn't be on a team at all. She figured it was worth spending the night together. Aureolin nodded, taking his hand in hers as the two began to leave Inktopolis plaza.

"Of course, but you're paying."


	4. Calm

It was a calm night in Inktopolis. It had begun raining a short time ago and it had been only getting heavier overtime. Within Aureolin's apartment, the two inklings were asleep peacefully. They had spent the rest of their afternoon with each other, relaxing and just talking. It was pretty great to Aureolin to have Linen around. Just being near her best friend made her feel all the more confident and calm right now. The two inklings were in her bedroom, both lying under the blankets asleep. Her room seemed pretty normal, with a dresser nearby and her closet stuffed full of clothes. She had a mirror set up on the wall beside a desk that had a lamp on it. Her bed seemed a bit big for her since she lived alone. But the two did not mind sharing.

Linen began to wake up, his eyes fluttering. He saw a nearby alarm clock on the nightstand that read 5:38am. He sighed and rolled over onto his back, seeing his best friend still asleep beside him, her eyes closed, her chest slowly rising and falling with each breath. The purple tentacle haired inkling smiled, seeing her like this. He was glad to be on a team with her, but to have her be his closest friend, made him feel like he didn't deserve half of what she did for him. He tried to move closer to the yellow inkling and he carefully wrapped his arm around her. He didn't want to wake her up, but then he thought she would never have gotten to sleep last night. Aureolin was so excited for the beginning of the Turf War tournament. However, the peace of the night was interrupted by the sound of a ringing, much to Linen's annoyance. He sighed, getting out of bed and pulling his cellphone out of his pocket.

"Hello?" the purple inkling answered, hearing Aureolin yawn. She had been awoken by the ringing. She watched her best friend walk into the living room so he didn't disturb her further. Right now, the yellow inkling was wearing a white t-shirt that had a golden star printed with beady black dots for eyes on the front. Aureolin walked out of her bedroom and entered her living room. There was one big couch that pretty much had five seats put together. In front of that was a big coffee table that had an empty pizza box on it. Then there was a decent sized television in front of the coffee table. Her apartment wasn't that big, but she made due with the space she had.

"Are you okay, Linny?" Aureolin asked Linen, seeing him hang up his cellphone, looking aggravated.

"I'm fine Aure, just… Folly found out what happened to sky," Linen stated, though the way he made it out to be, it wasn't good news. Linen turned on the television and changed it to the Inktopolis Morning News, where on screen, he and Aureolin saw two rather attractive girls on television. They both had their tentacle hair done up into bows, though one girl was wearing pink and had her hair quite long, while the other had short light green hair. They were the Squid Sisters, Callie and Marie, two of the most famous people in all of Inktopolis, mostly for said news reports, but they also were the commentators for the annual Turf War competitions for the last few years. However, there was someone else with them. They were all sitting in chairs around a table, like a talk show. The third person was a teenage girl who wore a wool cap, but she had light blue tentacles for hair that were done up into short pigtails. She also was wearing a red shirt that had clearly some ink stains on it.

"So, Miss Sky. How does it feel to be the new leader of the Blank Slates?" Callie queried. Aureolin recognized that team name. It was the last team she tried out for but had been turned down from, just before Linen had brought her onto his team, the Ink Jets.

"Oh, well… it feels weird, I guess, but my team has the utmost confidence. We'll do great this year!" Sky answered. Her tone made her sound so assured, even though it was supposedly her first time in the Turf War tournament.

"Yes, the Blank Slates always get close to the top each year… but will a new leader really suffice to get you to first place? There are a lot of promising teams out this year," Marie had to admit. It did seem like a lot to say when the first round of the tournament hadn't even occurred yet. Sky grinned, her sharp teeth showing.

"We're working on new tactics and trying to make sure all four of us can cover any area in record time! We have no plans on losing," Sky exclaimed, gaining smirks from the Squid Sisters. Linen was sitting on the couch beside Aureolin. Just watching this, she knew it must be hard to take the news in, that his old team member had somehow become the leader of another team in less than a day.

"May I ask what happened to your prior leader? Amethyst, I believe," Callie continued the conversation, trying to find out what happened to the Blank Slates' last leader. Sky shook her head.

"She quit, but left no reason why. The team was disheartened, but we make do with the wounds we carry," she stated, though they noticed the time was running short on their talk show panel, Callie and Marie turning to the camera.

"We thank you all for tuning in," Callie said.

"We look forward to seeing you all at the tournament's first rounds tonight. And remember…" Marie continued. They both had big smiles for the camera as if to blind the viewers with their makeup and jewellery.

"Stay fresh!" they said in unison before the program changed. Linen turned off the TV, groaning as he laid back in his chair, Aureolin putting her hand on his shoulder.

"So what if she joined another team? It's not like we'll be fighting them today, right?" the yellow inkling reminded her best friend to try and remain calm about the whole situation. Linen nodded, conceding that they weren't fighting the blank slates. Not yet, anyhow.

"Right… tonight, we're going to be fighting the Splotches for the first round. But I'm real worried. If Sky is the new leader of those Blank Slates, their whole team must be learning quite a lot," the purple teenager confessed his fears of what the truth may be. He felt Aureolin rest her head on his chest, trying to get him to calm down as she got closer to him. Linen wrapped his arm around her side, looking at the rain pouring down hard outside the window. He had to be strong for her and the whole team. Panicking over nothing wasn't going to help.

"Try and rest. We'll worry about them when we fight them."


	5. Beginnings

It was beginning to get early into the afternoon, as Aureolin and Linen were heading side by side to the Inktopolis Plaza. The tournament was going to begin soon, and they could see a lot of other Inklings heading toward the plaza square. It was like a parade was going on. Once the two close friends arrived, they easily found Folly waiting for them.

"You saw that interview this morning right?" the pink tentacle haired teen asked. They both nodded. Aureolin still had trouble understanding why it mattered that Sky went and became the leader of another team, but she assumed the reason why was where they were more curious for.

"Yeah. That was Sky, alright…" Linen agreed. They hadn't imagined things. Even though they had gotten up kind of early this morning, their imaginations weren't playing with them.

"When does the competition begin?" the yellow inkling asked. Their leader pointed to their right where a small stage was set up. They could see the Squid Sisters on it, as well as Judd the judge. The two were greeting their all too happy fans which mostly consisted of spectators and other competitors. They approached the back of the crowd, seeing Myrtle standing there. She seemed more intent on watching the announcement from the Squid Sisters for the opening ceremony.

"We have a lot of entries this year for the annual Turf War competition! A new record, nearly 100 teams have entered!" Callie began. Her microphone echoed her words throughout the air. She was joyful to be doing this commentary for the competition.

"And by the end of today alone, this number will drop by half! The rules are simple; if you lose, your team shall be removed! There are so many gathered here! We have new and old teams…" Marie continued. The two loved doing this tandem announcement. Continuing each other's sentences gave a small bit of pleasure between them both. Aureolin and her team listened carefully with the rest of the audience.

"Teams made from families, and teams made from friends, no matter who or what you are, you shall be given a fair chance here. I hope you all know that the rules will change later on in the competition, but as for now…" Callie exclaimed as she and her sister both put on their big grins.

"We officially announce the third annual Turf War begins now!" they shouted in unison, gaining the roars of the crowds and a very annoyed expression from the already tired looking judge.

"This is giving me a headache," Folly commented. Aureolin nodded in agreement, sticking close to Linen, mostly because she was not able to handle crowds too well. She was paranoid of being in such a massive group of people. They saw the huge display screen light up, showing all sorts of team names and logos.

"Wow… one hundred teams," Aureolin could only say in awe, imagining it.

"We're only fighting one. Don't be so amazed. A lot the teams that will be eliminated today are probably first time teams," Myrtle reassured that the number didn't mean anything, no matter how intimidating it was, though the way she said it, it was like she forgot her own team was also in this for the first time.

"Sorry, I just am so excited! When are we up to fight?" Aureolin excitedly requested. That look in her eyes practically gleamed with joy. Linen chuckled, insisting for her to try and calm down. He loved seeing his best friend this happy. The others welcomed the huge amount of enthusiasm.

"We're the fourth match. The enemy team we're fighting are called the Splotches. I don't know much about them, but they appear to be aggressive players, so we just need to be calm and smart about this," Folly elaborated, ready to discuss a plan with them about how to handle the aggressive style play of the enemy team they were going to fight. They all agreed and listened to every word their leader said, though simultaneously, Aureolin watched the huge display screen that showed every fight between the teams playing before them. Each match seemed so beautiful to watch, the paint flying and coating areas. All they could do was wait and watch, though it only took maybe about an hour and a half for the first three fights to already be done.

"Wow. We're barely getting started and already things are getting pretty intense!" Callie said into her microphone, seeing Marie pull out a small reference note. She had a bunch written down to use to announce which team was fighting which.

"Next up! Give a round of applause for our next teams! Both new to the Turf War tourney scene! The Ink Jets and the Splotches!" Marie announced. Aureolin got a nervous smile, hearing the crowd cheering at the announcements. Both teams gathered up at the entrance of the Inktopolis Plaza Tower. The enemy team all seemed to consist of Inkling boys that almost looked exactly alike to one another.

"Whoa…" Folly was caught in surprise, seeing how similar all four of the enemy looked.

"Are you bunch quadruplets?" Linen tilted his head. The enemy leader nodded in response, his spiky blue tentacles for hair sticking straight up in the air like a poorly done mohawk.

"Well… good luck and have fun," Aureolin bid them good luck as both sides entered into the tower. When both sides got on their platforms, there was an awkward silence. Myrtle and Folly were focusing on the game plan, and the yellow inkling herself was mostly trying to keep herself calm. Linen seemed to be the most relaxed out of all of them as the glass encased their platforms. Their pink tentacle haired leader only had one thing to say to his team.

"This is our debut. Let's make sure it's good!"


	6. Round One

Aureolin emerged from the ink alongside her teammates. All their clothes had been dyed a purple colour, much to Linen's pleasure. The Turf War they were in was taking place at Arowana Mall. It was big for its size and there was a lot of ground to cover. Everyone was armed with the same weapons as before, except for Aureolin, who was trying out a new weapon, the Tentatek Splattershot. It was decent all around, plus she needed to get used to something else other than her default Splattershot.

"Remember the plan! Don't skip a beat," Folly reminded them. Aureolin nodded, and the team all scattered to begin painting every square of ground they could. The yellow inkling had split up with her best friend at her side. The plan was to go slow and allow the enemy to put pressure, but it still caught them all off guard that the entire enemy team consisted of quadruplets.

Aureolin and Linen had wound up at more of the centre area of Arowana Mall. There were a few ramps around leading to high points of the turf. They could see two of the enemy group who were already spraying their own half of the area, though the yellow inkling had an idea.

"Split and ambush?" she suggested, peeking from around the corner she and Linen were hiding behind.

"Sounds better than my idea," Linen sheepishly smirked. The idea he was going to suggest was to just blind rush them, but either way he was thankful to have her watching his back. He began to run out, gaining the two enemies' attention. They began opening fire at him as he took cover behind a random stone pillar that immediately got pelted in paint. Aureolin took the chance to spray an entire ramp in her team's purple ink. She then switched into her squid form, sinking into it and swimming quickly straight up to the top. Once she got up there, she emerged at the top of the ramp, seeing some graffiti on the nearby wall. She was starting to notice a lot of graffiti all over Arowana Mall. She looked at her weapon nervously.

"Let's hope I know what I'm doing…" the yellow inkling fearfully bit her lip. She had coated enough of the area to be permitted the use of the special form of her weapon for a brief eight seconds. She hit a button on the side of her Tentatek Splattershot, watching it quickly transform and change in size. It became the Inkzooka, one of the few special weapons that needed to have certain requirements by painting enough of an area, though sadly special weapons only lasted eight seconds each. The weapon itself was heavy for sure. Linen was still hiding behind the cover. He got shot in the leg by a stray paint burst. He cringed, feeling it sting, though he saw his best friend at the top of that ramp with the Inkzooka and that all too familiar gleam in her eyes that made him gulp in fear.

"Oh please, don't hit me by mistake…" Linen mentally hoped as the enemy got closer to him. Suddenly, Aureolin fired, watching the Inkzooka blast explode on contact into a small whirlwind of purple ink that went in a straight line, completely coating one of the enemies and sending the other tumbling down. Linen could only watch the enemy run in fear, dodging each shot of the Inkzooka, though sadly his legs couldn't keep him going from Aureolin's rampage. He got hit by the last shot, being soaked in ink and knocked out. The two bodies vanished just as her Inkzooka ceased fire.

"I love this gun!" Aureolin shouted. Linen was glad she was happy, but she became somewhat scary when too excited. She quickly jumped down from the ramp and ran over to her close friend, helping him up. He had to tolerate the pain in his leg for now.

"Yeah, you did great… c'mon, let's go find the others," Linen insisted, the two rushing off to find their teammates now that they had coated this entire area in their team's purple ink, even if their means of doing so were a little overboard. The two wound up in some back part of Arowana Mall that had pools of the enemy's green ink coated. They could see Folly trying to use his paint roller to cover some ground, but Myrtle was only able to protect him so much. They saw their pink tentacle haired leader get shot by multiple ink blotches before collapsing into unconsciousness.

"I'll try and get behind them," Aureolin said. Before Linen could advise against the idea, she had run off with a big grin on her face. She was all too happy to be in the turf war competition, and it showed. Linen groaned, running over to Myrtle. He shot back at one of the enemies, managing to suppress their fire while they attempted to refuel their ink containers on their backs.

"She seems a little too into this…" Myrtle commented about their newest teammate. Linen couldn't disagree. The timer was running down and the enemy had most of this territory. When Aureolin got behind the enemy, she opened fire, her purple ink splattering the back of one of the enemies entirely. The other member of the quadruplets, however, was quick, sinking into their ink in his squid form and swimming around behind her. The yellow inkling had no time to retaliate before she got shot in the face by his Splattershot. She fell over, unconscious. The enemy then threw an ink bomb above Myrtle and Linen's cover which exploded and knocked them unconscious. It only took a brief few moments for all three of them to appear right on the platform.

"Sorry… I messed up," Aureolin apologized, realizing her own overexcited tactic had somewhat done that. The time was coming to an end as Folly reappeared on the platform.

"It's fine, Aure, I swear," Linen reassured that she did great, though Myrtle's burning look in her eyes claimed to disagree. Folly rolled his eyes, not wanting to know what his team was discussing right now as the timer ran out. They had to go back now. Aureolin was feeling that all too familiar nervous tension in her head, being unsure if they won or not. Only the judge will be able to tell.

"How can something go from fun to scary so fast?"


	7. Relaxing

Aureolin reappeared beside her team in the Inktopolis Plaza Tower. All of their clothing were back to their original colours. They saw the enemy team of quadruplets as well on the other platform. Judd the judge had been waiting for them. Aureolin's uneasiness was still taking over, realizing they had cameras on both teams. They focused on the judge for him to decide who the winner was.

"And the results are… the Splotches had covered 43% of the turf, and the Ink Jets covered 57%. The winners are the Ink Jets!" Judd announced loudly. They could hear the sounds of people cheering in excitement outside. Aureolin felt relieved, Linen pulling her into a hug, laughing with his dear friend.

"You all did great today," Folly stated. Myrtle looked just as happy as they did, and she was clearly bathing in the attention they all were getting as they stepped outside, the sound of various inklings cheering for them.

"Wow! That was a crazy battle!" Callie stated from her seat, her sister trying to fix her own microphone.

"I still feel the shivers up my back watching both teams collide," Marie agreed. The over aggression of the Splotches had cost them immensely long term when their opponents played defensively. The Squid Sisters seemed happy with the Ink Jets' performance.

"All teams who have competed in their rounds respectively are permitted to leave now, but remember, Round 2 of the competition is within a week," Marie explained what the teams could do, now that they already fought. The Splotches all looked disheartened to know they had lost. Aureolin left alongside her friends, embarrassed to see all these people rooting for them. The four began to leave the Inktopolis Plaza, the yellow tentacle haired inkling wondering what they should do now.

"You guys go get some rest, you earned it," Folly told them before he walked away on his own, his pink tentacle hair being somewhat messed up, but clearly he had something to attend to something that had been bugging him a lot. Myrtle sighed, stretching.

"See you later," she bid her friends goodbye before she left, leaving the two alone, though they were noticing an odd expression on her tall friend. She seemed more tired than they were, and she was acting more friendly than usual. They believed it was because they won, though, so they didn't think much of it.

"So do you want to celebrate?" Linen asked while they left the plaza, not wanting to stick around and watch all day, though his best friend thought his offer over for a second. They had already celebrated a lot last night. She was happy either way to spend time with him, though her left leg was hurting her. She rubbed it, sighing.

"I think I strained a muscle. How about we just go to a restaurant?" the yellow inkling requested, seeing her best friend gain a nervous smile as he looked away.

"What… like a-a date?" Linen hesitantly brought up the question in the back of his mind. He couldn't deny that he had these thoughts for quite some time, and it was obvious, but how far the two did things together under the pretence of friendship did seem a little much.

"Sure, if calling it that will make you calm down," Aureolin joked, but agreed to classify the dinner as a date since it was getting dark out, and they both knew some prime places to eat at for a dinner date. Linen felt a lot better, hearing her agree, though he wished she did not pick on him as much. Aureolin offered her hand to him. Linen smiled, taking her hand in his before they both left the plaza, the sun setting as the various crowds and teams stayed behind to continue perhaps a long few days of battles until next week's rounds.

The two had ultimately decided to go to one of their more favoured restaurants which was more in the east side of town. The restaurant was named "Surf & Turf", and it was very popular. It even had one of its own teams competing in the Turf War competition. Inside, the restaurant was quite packed tonight, though it had a calm theme to it, mostly based on pirates for some peculiar reason, but the theme was liked by many. They knew one thing about it, that it had four star dining. They could see a few televisions on the walls of the restaurants displaying the Turf War competition, that made Aureolin feel shy, imagining most people here had seen her and her team on TV.

"Table for two?" the receptionist greeted them.

"Yes, please," Aureolin hummed, her and Linen nodding before they were led to their table. They got placed by a window where they could look onto the side. Outside the streets were illuminated by streetlights. Linen was more interested in the television while they waited, trying not to say anything off topic. His date didn't seem to mind, though, she realized why the television drew his attention now. It was still on the Inktopolis Plaza Tower, but now the Blank Slates had just finished their fight and Judd was trying to evaluate the score, but he looked more confused than ever.

"Err… well, sorry for the wait. I had to re-evaluate the turf two more times. The Blue Blurs covered 15% of the turf and the Blank Slates covered 85%... a new record!" Judd exclaimed. There was a mix of gasps and cheers. Callie and Marie seemed astonished by the amount the Blank Slates covered. Linen and Aureolin could only stare intently at the television screen.

"Holy pufferfish…" Linen's jaw dropped.

"This is… just unbelievable," Callie admitted, looking to her sister for the words they were both missing. They could see Sky, who was standing in front of her team, triumphantly posing while the other three basked in the roars of fans.

"It looks like this is going to be a very stiff competition this year," Marie added while the Blank Slates climbed down from the Plaza Tower. Aureolin tried to ignore the TV and focus more on the menu before the two of them, but her fear was quite obvious.

"He-hey… I'm sure the Blue Blurs were not good at all and the Blank Slates just got lucky," Linen tried to reassure his date, though he failed to do so. The odds of that were tremendous. She sighed, sliding her menu aside.

"Let's try and enjoy our victory."


	8. Date

Aureolin and Linen had spent the next hour together eating dinner. The restaurant did have a nice variety of food that they didn't mind sharing with each other, if either of them were curious for the taste. Aureolin mostly had the chef's special soup and a slice of cheesecake, and Linen had gotten a salad and some spaghetti, though the two did keep watching the Turf War competition on one of the many televisions in the restaurant. So far, the yellow tentacle haired girl was enjoying the date, glad they could enjoy the celebration of their first victory tonight, even if the Blank Slates had imprinted fear into both of the teenage inklings' minds.

"This has been nice, Linny. What made you ask me out, anyway?" Aureolin asked, aware that the pretext for this date was a celebration for their victory today, so it made her wonder how long he had been wanting to do this. The two did do a lot of things together and often shared the same bed if they spent the night at either one's house. Linen didn't want to wreck their great friendship, but he did want more than that.

"Do I need a reason, Aure?" the purple tentacle haired inkling responded nervously. His date shrugged while getting her money out to pay for her half of the meal.

"No, but if you had a reason, then I'd feel less awkward by how sudden it was," Aureolin grinned, her sharp teeth adding onto showing how much joy she was getting out of teasing him. Linen sighed, getting up and putting his half of the payment on their table, following her as they both exited the restaurant and stepped out onto the streets, being mostly illuminated by the moonlight and the lights on the sidewalk.

"I just… I like you a lot. We both know that I have for a long time," he answered, doing his best not to upset her, but she didn't have any plans of being angry at him. She found it cute how he acted so brash and hyperactive one day and then suddenly shyer the next. Linen blushed, feeling Aureolin wrap her arms around him, and then their lips met. He didn't know how to react, but he didn't fight against her. He put his arms around her. They both felt like today had been great they won their first round. Now this signified the start of a hopeful relationship. When they broke apart, Linen found himself just against a nearby wall, staring awfully at her.

"Why your mouth tastes like ink is beyond me…" Aureolin laughed, seeing her new blushing boyfriend. She acted like there was no tension in the moment. The way she treated everything like she didn't have a care in the world, reassured Linen a lot that the date was a great start.

"I'm gonna head home…" the yellow inkling claimed, bidding him goodnight, though she only took a few steps away before stopping.

"Oh, and Linny…" she said, gaining his attention.

"Y-yeah, Aure?" Linen responded, beginning to snap out of his own stunned daze.

"Thanks again… for everything," Aureolin thanked him for getting her onto the Ink Jets to begin with, back when she gave up hope on getting into the Turf War competition.

"I-it was nothing…" he nodded, watching his new girlfriend leave. He decided he had to get home, too.

"Wait… did she say my mouth tastes like ink?" Linen mentally pondered. He didn't taste it himself, but then again he had been shot a lot by enemy teams' ink. He tried not to let his mind worry him as he headed back to his home, aware this could be a week of mostly relaxation before the next round of the Turf War competition.

Aureolin's walk home was nice, the sidewalks being somewhat empty, due to the time, anyway. It was awake now either at home only, or at the Inktopolis Plaza. She felt absolutely delightful. It only took a short while to get back to her apartment. She entered inside, where she was greeted by the empty darkness. She entered into her living room, looking at the television. Aureolin couldn't deny that she wanted to keep watching the Turf War competition, but she needed to sleep. She just switched the light off and headed straight for her room.

The yellow inkling slept quite peacefully. The hours of the night ticked by obliviously with her head resting comfortably in the pillow, though Aureolin was awoken from her sleep early by an odd noise. She heard a light tapping. She groaned, rolling over and resting her face on the pillow. She glared at her alarm clock which read 5:49am. She asked herself if she even should set the alarm on it anymore. She always woke up early, so it seemed pointless. Aureolin forced herself out of bed, shutting off the alarm so it wouldn't annoy her later. She left her bedroom to go see what was with the noise.

Aureolin entered into her living room, her attention focusing on the person currently inhabiting her couch. It was Myrtle, who was watching the Turf War competition on television. Her long green tentacles still were eerily long to the yellow inkling, but she ignored it, not being her prime focus right now.

"Myrtle? Why are you in my house? Wait, scratch that. How did you get into my house, and how did you find out where I live?" Aureolin began her questioning, thinking it was too early in the morning to tolerate her teammates' oddities. She went to the small nearby kitchen and opened the refrigerator that was lacking in stock. She grabbed one of the few sodas available, an odd brand that was called Electric Watermelon, her favourite flavour.

"Folly told me where your house was. I guess he asked Linen for it first. Also, you need to remember to lock your windows," Myrtle explained to her teammate that their leader told her where Aureolin lived, though the green inkling wasn't being her aggressive usual self.

"Right… so what is so important you had to break in?" Aureolin continued pressing further, seeing her teammate sigh.

"I need someone to come with me to the hospital."


	9. Hospital Visit

Aureolin found herself mentally repeating what her teammate had just told her. Myrtle needed someone to come with her to the hospital, but she didn't look like she was in any bad shape. On the contrary, she seemed to be in perfect health.

"Why do you need to go to the hospital? It can't be that bad," the yellow tentacle inquired doing her best to forget how her teammate had broken into her house. The green inkling looked shy to tell her problem, but sighed.

"It is… my left side won't stop hurting, and I threw up last night and there was blood," Myrtle explained, about both a slight pain on her side, and even worse sounding, blood in her vomit. It was embarrassing, but she knew ignoring this predicament was the last thing she wanted to do. Aureolin sat down beside her, rubbing her teammate's back.

"It's probably just a kidney stone. Why do you want me to come with you, anyway? I'm sure you have a lot closer friends," Aureolin asked. She was not sure she could even be labelled as a friend to her. This was an odd circumstance to find out under.

"I don't want anyone to be worrying over me pointlessly, but I don't want to be alone... please, Aureolin," Myrtle's eyes portrayed the fear in her heart. She was doing her best to hide her fear. She had done this with little hesitation, but Myrtle hated getting attention from worry. She loved hearing the crowd cheering last night for the Turf War competition, but she hated having people wonder if she needed help constantly.

"Alright. I'll get ready," Aureolin nodded in agreement. She could safely assume that Myrtle was afraid of hospitals, but she didn't want to bug her with more questions. They had to get her medical attention now. She quickly went off to change clothes.

Aureolin changed out of her night clothing and had changed into a pair of overalls, and a yellow shirt that had a bright red flower print that had a flame shape to its petals. She was walking alongside Myrtle on the streets since it had just started getting brighter out in the morning.

"Do you have any idea who we're fighting next week?" the yellow inkling asked.

"I've no clue. All I know is we have a practice match tomorrow," Myrtle answered, half disappointed in herself for not knowing, but her mind had been too focused on the medical issue. They continued their silent trek, having not much to say to each other. They both knew of the Blank Slates' record breaking score last night, and that alone was a bit horrible if they wound up fighting them. Thankfully, they could see the hospital in the distance. The two squid girls just made their way inside as quickly as they could.

"Boy… it sure is busy," Aureolin couldn't help but state, seeing a lot of other inklings there, all of who had come from the Turf War competition. It appeared that some of them had suffered injuries ranging in various levels. Some of the teenagers had broken bones, while some were suffering from exhaustion of some form. Aureolin sighed, knowing she was going to spend most of her morning here with Myrtle. The long green tentacle haired girl was signing in a list for basic hospital questionnaire so she could be seen by a doctor. Aureolin heard her cellphone ringing. She pulled it out and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Aure! How goes it?" Linen's voice chimed. Clearly their new relationship had given him enough energy to last for days if he needed to.

"Oh, I'm fine, Linny. I'm just at the hospital…" Aureolin cut herself off, realizing Myrtle had begged her to accompany her on this medical visit so no one else would worry about her for no reason. However what her boyfriend had just heard immediately worried him.

"What?! Are you hurt?" Linen immediately begged for a response from his girlfriend. She was rubbing her eye, sighing.

"No, Linny, I'll be fine. I'm getting a check-up. Just don't worry about me. How about tonight we gather everyone up and talk about strategy for our next fight?" Aureolin suggested, trying to calm her boyfriend's worries down. Linen was reluctant at the idea of doing such, but gritted his teeth. He hated imagining her in trouble, but he knew she would tell him if something drastic was wrong.

"Alright, Aure… I'll go find the others," he agreed, much to her relief.

"Thanks, Linny, I love ya," Aureolin hung up before seeing Myrtle approaching, having finished signing the document, though she didn't seem any less nervous. The two took a seat in the waiting room. Each passing minute felt like an hour to them.

"So… why do you hate hospitals?" the yellow inkling queried about what exactly made her teammate unable to stand medical facilities. Myrtle gave her an icy glare. It was somewhat intimidating, but it was a good sign that she still could keep her passive aggressive attitude of hers.

"I've had a bad experience with vaccines. I wound up getting real sick when I was eight and had to be put in a clean room for about a month before I got better," Myrtle explained. She was just afraid of accidents happening to her in hospitals. She never had been able to forget that near death experience. Aureolin didn't really know what to say in response to that, though she did have to ask herself if that had any reason behind why Myrtle had a defensively hostile mindset about her. They saw one of the many nurses approach.

"Myrtle, the doctor will see you in exam room 2," the nurse stated. The two teammates got up and headed for the exam room. Myrtle got more uncomfortable when they entered inside.

"I'm sure it will be fine."


	10. Substitute

Aureolin had pretty much spent nearly two hours with Myrtle in the examination room. The doctor had already come in and done his examination, taken blood for tests along with a more thorough description of her medical issue right now. The yellow inkling was trying to keep things calm for her teammate.

"But yeah, Linen wound up burning that tree down…" Aureolin finished her story that had received an odd look from Myrtle. She shook her head, the tale of Aureolin and Linen's childhood accident certainly was an odd incident.

"Why am I having such an easy time believing he'd do that?" Myrtle wondered aloud, having a smile, at least from the old story. They then saw the door open. The doctor entered back into the room, being an older man who looked about in his early fifties. He was wearing a white coat and was carrying a file. He also had short blonde tentacles for hair.

"So what did the tests say, Doctor Goldenwood?" Myrtle cut straight to the point, since she was becoming more nervous by the second. He nodded, taking a seat.

"Well, Myrtle, the tests are showing minor kidney failure. We believe that is what resulted in your bloody vomit as well. It's most likely just a side effect of dehydration, but we'd still like to keep you here for the next week to monitor your kidney function," the doctor explained that Myrtle had been suffering from kidney failure which was the main cause behind her side pain. Hopefully it would be reversible.

"A week? But our next round in the Turf War competition is in only a couple of days…" Aureolin stated the big problem. But Myrtle knew she couldn't wait and avoid treatment. She got down from the examination table, knowing the doctor would help get her prepared to be admitted to their upper floor for treatment.

"Don't worry about me. I might get better before that," Myrtle responded to her half friend. Aureolin could only accept to let Myrtle go.

"Thanks again for coming with me," she then said before leaving with Doctor Goldenwood. Aureolin sighed, knowing now she had to inform their teammates about this. It was about time to go meet up with Linen and Folly. Aureolin left the hospital, knowing this was a new mess to clean up on top of the ever building pile. She knew Myrtle pleaded with her not to tell others so they didn't worry, but Aureolin had no choice. They had to figure out what would happen if they were down by one teammate for the competition.

Aureolin had travelled a good distance away from the hospital. She had contacted Linen for directions on where to meet up at. The place he chose was a fast food restaurant called Ink Pawn. The yellow inkling didn't often come to dine at this fast food service. They had a mostly diverse menu, but it all tasted bland for some odd reason. When she entered inside, she saw the all too familiar chess theme to the interior.

"Aure! Over here!" Linen called out from a nearby table. Aureolin smiled, seeing her boyfriend there, sitting at the table, and their leader idly eating fries. Folly didn't seem to care about the lack of taste in the food, though. She came over, greeting her friends while taking a seat alongside them.

"How'd the hospital visit go?" Folly asked, having been told she was the one who went there to get checked up, at least according to her boyfriend. The yellow inkling shook her head.

"I'm fine. It was Myrtle who needed to go there. The doctors admitted her, she isn't allowed to play for a week," she explained. Linen looked relieved that his girlfriend was fine, he was still saddened to hear about Myrtle. Folly looked annoyed.

"Great. Now we're in trouble since we got our next round in the Turf War competition in a few days and our practice fight is tomorrow night," Folly reminded, scanning over their teammates' medical condition with minimal care. They knew their pink leader preferred being objective, but the way he didn't care was a little mean.

"What's going to happen if we're down to three people?" Linen questioned, offering his girlfriend some of his salad. Aureolin turned it down, not feeling hungry.

"Well we will be forced to forfeit. However, there is a one use rule that can permit us a substitute for one match, so we can cancel the practice game and focus on finding a fourth for the match," Folly elaborated on their only option for a plan. Aureolin and Linen looked to one another, aware that this would be a problem. Finding someone who knew what they were doing and making sure they don't botch the match was a bigger issue. It seemed like an impossible task. Everyone was signed up for teams already or had formed their own, and the few who weren't on said teams were most likely not that good in skill.

"You and your girlfriend head to the plaza and see what you two can find," Folly ordered, gaining confused glances from his teammates.

"And what are you going to do?" Linen hissed, not liking his tone. Their leader stood up, beginning to head toward the exit.

"Same thing as you. Call me if ya find someone," he answered, though as he left, the purple inkling realized that their leader had not left his half of the payment for the meal.

"Um… Aure, can you cover the bill on our next date?" Linen nervously asked with a sheepish smile, but his girlfriend had a big grin, having something in mind to do in trade for this.

"Sure, Linny. I'll think of some way you can make up for it," Aureolin laughed mischievously. He hated when she did that, as it only added onto his nervousness. The two left the fast food restaurant to get to the plaza, and do their best at finding available members to substitute.

"We've got six days. That's plenty of time… right?"


	11. Results

Five days had passed since the three members of the Ink Jets had begun their search for a fourth inkling to act as substitute in place of Myrtle. It had gotten dark out, and everything was quiet and calm at Aureolin's apartment, though the front door could be heard unlocking as the doorknob jiggled, the door itself opening up.

"I can't believe this," Aureolin said while she entered into the dark living room, flicking the lights on. Her boyfriend was right behind her. He closed the door behind them as they got inside. They both looked tired and clearly irritated.

"Five days and not one person able to substitute for us," Linen sighed. He saw his girlfriend plop down onto the couch, brushing her yellow tentacle hair aside. The two of them had spent nearly the whole week trying to find someone to replace Myrtle just for the one match tomorrow night, but since they found no one, it appeared they would be forced to forfeit and contest from the tournament. He took a seat beside her.

"I thought all the stress would be on the turf… not outside of it," Aureolin admitted, having not expected half of this when she joined their team, but she had no regrets. It was fun to be fighting, either way. Experience and effort were worth a lot. The inkling girl was depressed, imagining not being able to compete any longer. Her boyfriend had a good idea to cheer her up.

"C'mon, Aure. Don't be down, or else," Linen grinned. Aureolin quirked an eyebrow, seeing his hand on her leg, trying to reassure her.

"Or else what?" she responded, hoping he wasn't going to be making bad jokes in a mere effort to try and cheer her up, though whenever he had an idea, he tended to go for it, even though they usually went wrong. She saw him get closer, crawling toward her on the couch.

"Or else, I'll just have to make you cheer up!" Linen playfully roared. His girlfriend didn't even get a chance to react before feeling his fingers against her skin, forcing her to begin giggling, feeling him beginning to tickle her sides.

"Li-Linny! Stop it! I swear…!" Aureolin tried to threaten through her giggling and laughter. He was on top of her, continuing his tickle attack. She was actually getting tears in her eyes from how hard she was laughing. Linen had no clue she was that sensitive, making a mental note of this. However, their fun was stopped when they heard another voice chime out.

"Hope I'm not interrupting," Folly spoke up as he stood at the kitchen doorway. Linen stopped his tickle assault when they both saw him, letting his girlfriend take a well needed break. She sat up, catching her breath.

"H-how long have you been there?" Aureolin embarrassedly asked, having not intended to display their affection between them in front of their team leader.

"Oh, I've been waiting for you two to get back. I've been here for about three hours," Folly answered, not seeming to have much care about the two playing around.

"Yeah, we didn't find a sub…" Linen got cut off mid-sentence, trying to explain what the efforts of their day had brought.

"I know," their pink tentacle haired leader stated. He already figured that much out, judging by how depressed they sounded while he was in the kitchen. The yellow inkling got up, glaring at her leader.

"Wait a sec. How'd you get into my home?" Aureolin questioned, hoping he could give a straight answer, though she saw him look slightly amused by the query.

"You really should lock your windows," Folly claimed. He had gotten in through an unlocked window very easily. The teenage squid girl looked annoyed. That was the same thing she heard from Myrtle a few days ago. She didn't like knowing her entire team didn't have any hesitation or care about breaking into the apartment. She wouldn't mind if she was even home or not. Linen though didn't really mind himself; in fact, he had his friends breaking into his home a lot as well, though he started to wonder if he should be more concerned.

"Thanks for the warning. What is it you needed to talk to us about?" Aureolin asked, seeing him come over and take a seat beside them on the long couch. He rested his feet on the coffee table.

"None of us have found anyone who isn't on another team… but we still have someone we can try and convince to help," Folly pulled out his wallet, digging around through it and then pulling a small photograph out, handing it over to Linen. Within the photograph, there was a girl that was their age. Her light purple tentacle hair was extremely short and spiky. The photo showed this girl wearing a white shirt with red stripes on it and a black turtle shell as a symbol.

"Hey… that's Amethyst," Linen pointed out, recognizing the former leader for the Blank Slates before she supposedly retired, whereupon their old friend Sky had taken over.

"You want us to go try and convince Amethyst to fight with us on the turf," Aureolin said the train of thought aloud. Their leader nodded. That summed up the whole idea in a nutshell.

"Yeah. I know where she lives, so all you two have to do is the talking," he claimed. It was certainly the best idea available.

"Why do you carry a picture of her in your wallet?" Linen chimed in. That was certainly an oddity that hadn't crossed his girlfriend's mind. Folly didn't respond, immediately snatching the picture back and stuffing it back into the wallet.

"Sometimes, emotions can cause you to act without thinking," Folly said. Aureolin and Linen had to wonder about their leader's history. Maybe Amethyst could tell them some more once they found her. Folly wrote down the address on a small note before handing it over to them.

"Hey, this is an apartment complex across town!" Aureolin exclaimed. This would take a while to get to on foot, and it already was dark out. The clock hanging on the wall showed that the time was 7:36pm in the evening, but they needed to get someone for the next round of the tournament tomorrow.

"Have fun," Folly grinned, showing his sharp teeth. That was the first time he really had displayed emotion. Normally he kept a straight face, and he was the type just to stay objective if he could help it. The inklings gave up. They had no choice but to go. The young couple left the apartment complex, aware they were burning time. Once they were gone, the pink inkling boy looked to the couch.

"May as well crash here for the night," Folly thought, thinking Aureolin wouldn't care if he spent the night after breaking into her home in the first place. He went off to try and find some spare blankets.


End file.
